cmo
10/02/09, 04:12 PM
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5jPMvjqwALkJ5wc2SrWXhUuPDIfcg?size=l
Tropical Storm Parma headed westward over the Pacific Ocean
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5jw7URGaJE1F8SuTGVQO_dfzgB3xA?size=l
Map showing the path of Typhoon Parma, heading towards the north of the Philippines
'Pepeng' hazardous - PAGASA
MANILA - Weather forecasters on Friday warned that typhoon Pepeng (international codename Parma) can cause "very heavy damage" to communities in northern Luzon and increase water levels in flooded areas in Metro Manila badly hit by tropical storm Ondoy (Ketsana).
"It is hazardous. It can create disaster. It is a very strong typhoon with 195 kilometers per hour of winds that can bring very heavy damaged to affected communities," Nathaniel Cruz, chief weather forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA), said in a briefing on Friday morning.
Cruz said the areas that would feel Pepeng's wrath were provinces in northern Luzon, including Aurora and Isabela. He said the provinces of Quezon, Cagayan, Nueva Viscaya, and Quirino "cannot be spared" by Pepeng, which has been tagged as a supertyphoon by international news agencies.
He said communities in these provinces should watch out for landslides, flashfloods and storm surges.
As the media briefing was being conducted before noon on Friday, Pepeng was already pounding Bicol provinces with strong winds and rains.
As of 11 a.m., the typhoon was 180 kilometers east northeast of Virac town, Catanduanes province with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 230 kph.
It was moving fast at 19 kph towards the Isabela-Aurora area.
The typhoon was expected to make a landfall in Aurora by Saturday morning and cross northern Luzon throughout the day before exiting to the South China Sea through Ilocos region by Sunday morning.
Storm Signal No. 2 has been hoisted over Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, the northern part of Quezon, Aurora, Polillo Islands and Isabela.
As of posting, areas under Signal No. 1 were Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Cagayan, Babuyan Islands, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Benguet, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, southern Quezon, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Burias Island, and Northern Samar.
The weather bureau said it will raise Storm Signal No. 4 over provinces in northern Luzon as soon as Pepeng intensifies into a supertyphoon.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, meanwhile, ordered officials of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) to conduct preemptive evacuations in areas under storm alert signals.
Higher floodwaters in Ondoy-hit areas
Cruz also warned residents in Metro Manila and other provinces with villages still submerged in floods about the rains from Pepeng.
"To be on the safe side, people who are now staying in areas that were inundated by tropical storm Ondoy, they should seek higher ground," he said.
Susan Espinueva of PAGASA's hydro metrological division, said flooded areas in Metro Manila, Laguna and Rizal have already reached the maximum water holding capacity, and even slightly heavy rains can increase floodwaters.
Espinueva said the those in charge of dams around Luzon have advised the public that they may have to continuously release water during Pepeng's onslaught to prevent spillage.
Cruz, meanwhile, assured that Metro Manila will not experience rains as heavy as that brought by Ondoy. He said the southwest monsoon is not as strong and Metro Manila was too far from Pepeng's eye to experience long hours of heavy rains.
Evacuations start
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro announced in a briefing on Friday morning that the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Councils (PDCC) in Pampanga and Bulacan have already conducted "preemptive" evacuations. PDCC's in other Central Luzon provinces have also said they are prepared for the typhoon.
Teodoro said that in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), where several areas were still flooded due to heavy rains brought on by typhoon Ondoy (international codename Ketsana), have pinpointed possible additional evacuation areas in case they are also hit by Pepeng.
He said Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) region has also prepared evacuation centers.
An ABS-CBN News report said local authorities in Camarines Norte worked overnight to evacuate residents living in critical areas to safer grounds.
The defense chief, who concurrently heads the NDCC, clarified that preemptive is different from forced evacuation.
He said only children and disabled, old and sickly people in areas living in critical areas will be forcibly evacuated from their homes ahead of Pepeng. He said "able" people, who would prefer to stay in their homes during the storm's onslaught, will not be forced to evacuate.
Teodoro, however, said that those who would refuse to be evacuated should not expect to be rescued immediately in case things turn for the worse.
"Kapag hindi nagpa-evacuate, huwag umasa na gagawin ang risk of life para ma-rescue sila," he said.
He added that the government would not allow the relief operations to be diverted for rescue operations for those who refused to be evacuated.
The NDCC has yet to come up with a report of the total number of people who have been covered by the preemptive evacuation for typhoon Pepeng.
Aurora, Isabela brace for 'supertyphoon'
Aurora Gov. Bella Angara-Castillo told ANC's News@8 that the provincial government has already prepositioned relief goods, medicine and rescue equipment in critical areas, including Baler and Casiguran towns.
Castillo said they have also designated several school buildings in the province that can be used as evacuation centers.
She added that the provincial engineering office and the local office of the Department of Public Works and Highways have also been alerted.
The governor, meanwhile, said they would need more rubber boats for the rescue of the province's coastal villagers.
"The number of rescue boats we have in case a big typhoon will occur would not be enough. Aurora has one of the longest coastlines in the country," she said.
Castillo added that the provincial board has already met and is prepared to declare a state of calamity in case Pepeng devastates the province.
Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca, meanwhile, said that the provincial government has also conducted preemptive evacuations from communities usually hit by storms.
Padaca said the province is prepared to face the supertyphoon.
as of 10/02/2009 1:08 PM
source (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/02/09/pepeng-hazardous-pagasa)
Tropical Storm Parma headed westward over the Pacific Ocean
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5jw7URGaJE1F8SuTGVQO_dfzgB3xA?size=l
Map showing the path of Typhoon Parma, heading towards the north of the Philippines
'Pepeng' hazardous - PAGASA
MANILA - Weather forecasters on Friday warned that typhoon Pepeng (international codename Parma) can cause "very heavy damage" to communities in northern Luzon and increase water levels in flooded areas in Metro Manila badly hit by tropical storm Ondoy (Ketsana).
"It is hazardous. It can create disaster. It is a very strong typhoon with 195 kilometers per hour of winds that can bring very heavy damaged to affected communities," Nathaniel Cruz, chief weather forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA), said in a briefing on Friday morning.
Cruz said the areas that would feel Pepeng's wrath were provinces in northern Luzon, including Aurora and Isabela. He said the provinces of Quezon, Cagayan, Nueva Viscaya, and Quirino "cannot be spared" by Pepeng, which has been tagged as a supertyphoon by international news agencies.
He said communities in these provinces should watch out for landslides, flashfloods and storm surges.
As the media briefing was being conducted before noon on Friday, Pepeng was already pounding Bicol provinces with strong winds and rains.
As of 11 a.m., the typhoon was 180 kilometers east northeast of Virac town, Catanduanes province with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 230 kph.
It was moving fast at 19 kph towards the Isabela-Aurora area.
The typhoon was expected to make a landfall in Aurora by Saturday morning and cross northern Luzon throughout the day before exiting to the South China Sea through Ilocos region by Sunday morning.
Storm Signal No. 2 has been hoisted over Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, the northern part of Quezon, Aurora, Polillo Islands and Isabela.
As of posting, areas under Signal No. 1 were Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Cagayan, Babuyan Islands, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Benguet, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, southern Quezon, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Burias Island, and Northern Samar.
The weather bureau said it will raise Storm Signal No. 4 over provinces in northern Luzon as soon as Pepeng intensifies into a supertyphoon.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, meanwhile, ordered officials of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) to conduct preemptive evacuations in areas under storm alert signals.
Higher floodwaters in Ondoy-hit areas
Cruz also warned residents in Metro Manila and other provinces with villages still submerged in floods about the rains from Pepeng.
"To be on the safe side, people who are now staying in areas that were inundated by tropical storm Ondoy, they should seek higher ground," he said.
Susan Espinueva of PAGASA's hydro metrological division, said flooded areas in Metro Manila, Laguna and Rizal have already reached the maximum water holding capacity, and even slightly heavy rains can increase floodwaters.
Espinueva said the those in charge of dams around Luzon have advised the public that they may have to continuously release water during Pepeng's onslaught to prevent spillage.
Cruz, meanwhile, assured that Metro Manila will not experience rains as heavy as that brought by Ondoy. He said the southwest monsoon is not as strong and Metro Manila was too far from Pepeng's eye to experience long hours of heavy rains.
Evacuations start
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro announced in a briefing on Friday morning that the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Councils (PDCC) in Pampanga and Bulacan have already conducted "preemptive" evacuations. PDCC's in other Central Luzon provinces have also said they are prepared for the typhoon.
Teodoro said that in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), where several areas were still flooded due to heavy rains brought on by typhoon Ondoy (international codename Ketsana), have pinpointed possible additional evacuation areas in case they are also hit by Pepeng.
He said Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) region has also prepared evacuation centers.
An ABS-CBN News report said local authorities in Camarines Norte worked overnight to evacuate residents living in critical areas to safer grounds.
The defense chief, who concurrently heads the NDCC, clarified that preemptive is different from forced evacuation.
He said only children and disabled, old and sickly people in areas living in critical areas will be forcibly evacuated from their homes ahead of Pepeng. He said "able" people, who would prefer to stay in their homes during the storm's onslaught, will not be forced to evacuate.
Teodoro, however, said that those who would refuse to be evacuated should not expect to be rescued immediately in case things turn for the worse.
"Kapag hindi nagpa-evacuate, huwag umasa na gagawin ang risk of life para ma-rescue sila," he said.
He added that the government would not allow the relief operations to be diverted for rescue operations for those who refused to be evacuated.
The NDCC has yet to come up with a report of the total number of people who have been covered by the preemptive evacuation for typhoon Pepeng.
Aurora, Isabela brace for 'supertyphoon'
Aurora Gov. Bella Angara-Castillo told ANC's News@8 that the provincial government has already prepositioned relief goods, medicine and rescue equipment in critical areas, including Baler and Casiguran towns.
Castillo said they have also designated several school buildings in the province that can be used as evacuation centers.
She added that the provincial engineering office and the local office of the Department of Public Works and Highways have also been alerted.
The governor, meanwhile, said they would need more rubber boats for the rescue of the province's coastal villagers.
"The number of rescue boats we have in case a big typhoon will occur would not be enough. Aurora has one of the longest coastlines in the country," she said.
Castillo added that the provincial board has already met and is prepared to declare a state of calamity in case Pepeng devastates the province.
Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca, meanwhile, said that the provincial government has also conducted preemptive evacuations from communities usually hit by storms.
Padaca said the province is prepared to face the supertyphoon.
as of 10/02/2009 1:08 PM
source (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/02/09/pepeng-hazardous-pagasa)